Visual Deception - Bunkamura Exhibition Tokyo

The exhibition currently running at the Bunkamura museum is titled Visual Deception. The theme is "Trompe-l’oeil", paintings that trick the eye. The first section holds 16th and 17th century examples: a flat canvas that looks like a marble relief; a young lad climbing out of the picture frame (An image used in some of the posters); a paper note nailed to some wood; a picture of a picture.

Moving on, Archimboldo's portrait of Vertumnus/Rudolf II depicted in vegetables is displayed in Japan for the first time.

One section is dedicated to Japanese works demonstrating similar effects, for example scrolls where the ties are painted on, rather than actual pieces of material.

Artists from the 20th century include Salvador Dali and MC Escher. Three of his works are displayed including the well known 'impossible building' Belvedere and Waterfall where the water wheel looks like it can run forever.

Another of my favorite artists is Rene Magritte. I visited an exhibition of his work in Seoul a few years ago. Here in Tokyo, three of his works are on show including Attempting the Impossible:



[He was a far more successful Belgian artist than a certain Antoine Wiertz described in the Economist as "perhaps the worst painter to have a government-funded museum all to himself" in an article relating the perils of governments supporting ventures that may, at the time, seem like a great idea, but turn out to be less enduringly popular.]

The exhibition concludes with some contemporary works including two tilt shift photos from a Japanese photographer, whose name I failed to make a note of and, since I was too stingy to buy the exhibition catalog, I now have no record of.

Location:
Bunkamura Museum,24-1, Dogenzaka 2-chome Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 03-3477-9111

Until : Sunday 16th Aug 2009

Opening Hours:
10:00 to 19:00. (Friday and Saturday until 21:00). (Admission up until 30 minutes before closing)

Access:
5 minutes walk from Shibuya Station

Admission:
Adults 1400 yen
Students 1000 yen
Children 700 yen.

Due to the huge demand for the exhibition we had to queue for 25 minutes on Sunday for a ticket. But if you plan ahead, tickets can be purchased online (in Japanese only) at Ticket Pia Lawson Ticket and e + (IPURASU). Or at Seven Eleven, Family Mart, Circle K, Sunkus, JTB and Tokyu Plaza Travel Center.

It was a crowded exhibition so be prepared to wait in line to admire the art works close up, but it's well worth the effort.

Neoteny - Contemporary Art Exhibition , Tokyo

I don't always like modern art, but the exhibition currently on at the Royal Museum in Ueno Tokyo showed some of the most interesting and intriguing pieces I've seen in a long time.

Image shamelessly copied from neoteny.jp.

From the mirrored sculpture of a six legged wolf by Konoike Tomoko at the start, to the small group of creatures made of bamboo (perhaps?) on the way out, I was enthralled.

The exhibition includes almost one hundred works from thirty three Japanese artists. The range of material and subjects was outstanding. Some of my favourites included :

"History of Rise and Fall" by Ikeda Manabu. This 2m by 2m canvas includes such an enormous amount of detail in the imaginary landscape I could have looked at it for hours and still discovered something new.

The huge canvas from Aida Makoto entitled Giant Salamander. If it hadn't been for the title, I might have missed the very large aquatic creature in the middle of the picture.

"Human Lesson, Dress 01", which is where the wolf's head in the poster comes from, (and yes, it is a dress.. kind of) and the Victorian looking instrument of torture entitled Fingerspanner both from Odani Motohiko.

A modern take on a classic Japanese style of painting from Yamaguchi Akira entitled Modern Times.

And many many more. I highly recommend it, but hurry, the exhibition ends on July 15th.

Location:

The Ueno Royal Museum ,Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0007
TEL: 03-3833-4191 http://www.ueno-mori.org

Until : Wednesday, July 15 2009

Opening Hours:
10:00 to 18:00. Fridays until 20:00. (Admission up until 30 minutes before closing)

Access:
3 minutes walk from JR Ueno Station

Admission:
Adults 1200 yen
Students 1000 yen

More photos on the blog neoteny.jp blog

New Starbucks in Ebisu

This morning at 7:30 the 246th Starbucks in Tokyo opened without any fanfare, in Yebisu Garden Place Tower.



It's only five minutes walk from the Starbucks at Ebisu station.


The new outlet provides the usual selection of coffee, tea, chocolate and some bottled soft drinks. A display cabinet holds pastries and sandwiches. A short cafe latte costs 320 Yen. Unlike the convenience store next door and the Starbucks branch at the station, they do not accept Suica electronic pre paid cards which is not very helpful. Around the side is a small area with some armchairs and small tables.

The three cafes already providing coffee to take away are going to have a serious competitor right in the middle of the Yebisu Garden complex.

Least to fear is MacDonald's. A small cafe latte costs 210 Yen. The queues when this branch of the Golden Arches opened last year went round the block, but they weren't there for the coffee.



Excelsior Cafe has a branch in the building. It's a well known chain around Tokyo. It was created in 1999 by the Doutor coffee company to compete with Starbucks after the American chain first arrived in Japan in 1996. Excelsior serve a range of other beverages including beer. The large cafe with some outdoor seating is going to continue to attract people who like to sit down in a venue with more space and a bit more choice on the menu.



Benugo's has to most to fear from the new arrival.



A small cafe latte here will set you back 330 Yen. However a 10% discount is available to people who work in the tower. They have a small indoor seating area and some tables outside. Their speciality is hot sandwiches something they started in 2003. Their eggs benugo is a firm favourite of mine. [The interesting article from the Japan Times describes Pret A Manager as their biggest competitor when they started but Pret a Manger pulled out of Japan in 2004 after their 50/50 partner Macdonalds withdrew from the project.]

Some other interesting research I found comparing Starbucks and Excelsoir in 2002, and a good personal summary of some of the the other chains in Japan from Japan-Zone. For me, I'll probably buy the coffee from Starbucks, but go to Benugo's to eat, I just hope they stay in business. What's your favorite coffee shop?

Blogging for Perks and Pleasure

Yesterday's item in the Japan Times titled "Bloggers gain perks to pitch tourist spots" reminds me, in a round about way, of why I started this blog almost exactly three years ago.

At the time I was living and working in London, but my wife and I had had enough of living in the UK and were keen to go out to Asia. So, the plan was hatched that she would get a job teaching English in Seoul, I would have a year off from work and become a house husband, we'd spend a year there, then I'd get a job in Japan and we'd move across the Japan Sea. Which is exactly what we did.

When I first told friends and family we were moving to South Korea most people knew very little about the country and the people. I had been following a number of blogs at the time and had been casting around for a good subject for a blog. I realised that a blog on what life offers in Korea might make a good topic. My aim was not only to inform friends and family of our life in Korea, but also to provide detailed information for other expats and tourists coming to Korea.

I soon discovered a healthy Korean Blogosphere with a wide range of bloggers from those fresh off the plane excited to taste their first Kimchi to the seasoned long termers like Robert at the Marmot's Hole and Mike the Metropolitician.

I enjoyed blogging about the interesting and varied places and events we visited. From the peace and quiet of Samcheonggak to the fun of the Hi Seoul Festival
Other useful information I blogged about ranged from The Best Bread in Seoul , Discount Cards to the first day of the Arex Airport Railway.

Since we moved to Japan my blogging frequency and volume has been reduced but I still try to post two to three times a month on something topical. I've done my best to promote regional attractions. I provided a link direct to Shizuoka Tourism's site promoting the new airport that opened at the beginning of this month. I documented our summer trip to Hokkaido last summer.

This blog has always been a hobby and I never attempted to make any money by trying to commercialise it, I got as far as signing up for AdSense, but because the blog is still on the old format blogger template (long story) I have not bothered to incorporate the adverts. I have always been open to reviewing products or services in return for an honest write up, but have sadly never been offered anything.

Strangely the Japan Times does not include any links to the bloggers depicted. I spent a few minutes searching to see if I could find any of their sponsored blog posts but I couldn't find anything obvious. Instead, I found another blogger ( Kimonobox) also commenting on the same story and looking for the same thing! She's done a bit more research and come up with nothing either. She is waiting (I fear in vain) for a reply back from the Japan Times to her request for more details. My guess is they are blogging in Japanese which is why the Japan Times did not include any links.

So if the Wakkanai tourism association is interested I would be more than happy to accept a trip up to the northern tip of Hokkaido to see more of the spectacular scenery.

This was intended to be an entry for this month's Japan blogs Matsuri which is hosted by Billy at Tune-in-Tokyo on the subject of Living on a budget in Japan. But, I am not sure after all that rambling, it counts on the subject of how to save money? What are your thoughts on bloggers posting for perks and could you save money from it if you have a blog?

Tokyo Design Festa 2009

Just one of 2,000 stands, originally uploaded by jonallen01966.

I went to the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition centre for the Design Festa at the weekend. Over 2,000 local and international exhibitors took part in this extravaganza of art, fashion and design.

The stands showed the artist's enormous imagination in a wide variety of media from oils and watercolours to wire, glass and plastics. Most of the items were for sale: everything including post cards, T-shirts, shoes, bags, clothes, wigs, hats and general nick knacks.

Some of my favourites include A Banana and Cream Facial and a cheeky design on wood. More of my photos on flickr , an excellent selection from lhuga and a 12 second video of some hungry money boxes that eat coins.

The festival happens twice a year and is happening next on the weekend of Oct 24th and 25th 2009.

Photo Quiz Answers

Thank you to everyone who entered the Prize Draw. The winner has been notified and will receive the last Poken I have from the batch of 12 I bought.

I am planning on buying another batch, so expect to hear more about Poken in the future.

Now the answers :



Answer 1: The building is the Museum of Maritime Science (Funenokagakukan).
Situated on the island of Odaiba in Tokyo Bay, this excellent museum holds a large collection of all things nautical. The NY Times reckons you could do the museum in two hours. I've been twice and still not seen half of it.



Answer 2: This is the Rainbow Bridge.
Linking the island of Odaiba with the mainland, the Rainbow Bridge was named after its multi coloured illumination . More from the Time Out Guide to Odaiba (The link only seems to work in IE)



Answer 3: The building is the National Diet Building.
Located at 1-chome, Nagatachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo.
Sessions of the House of Representatives take place in the left wing and sessions of the House of Councillors in the right wing. It was build in the 1930s entirely from indigenous materials. Tours around some areas of the building are available from Monday to Friday. Well worth a visit.



Answer 4: Sakura Daimon leading to the Imperial Palace.



Answer 5: The dog is named Hachiko and his statue stands outside Shibuya station. Hachiko and his master Prof. Uyeno, were inseparable friends. Each day "Hachi" would accompany his master to the train station when he left for work. Upon returning, the professor would find the dog patiently waiting. One fateful day in 1925 the professor was taken ill at the university and sadly died before he could return home. Hachiko waited patiently at the station for his return that day and the next. He continued his daily vigil for over ten years, becoming well known to the commuters passing through the station, until he passed away on the same spot he last saw his friend alive. [Abridged version of the full story from here.]

I hope you enjoyed the quiz. I may run another one. Any input is welcomed.

Tokyo Photo Quiz, Two Days Left

Just two days left to enter the Tokyo Photo Quiz. I have extended the deadline for entries by one day. You now have until 9pm Monday 11 May to send the answers to me.

There have been ten correct entries so far. Last chance to get your thinking hat on, answer the five questions about the photos of Tokyo and email your answers to enter the prize draw to win a Poken.